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An actress acquaintance of mine—let's call her Esmerelda—once said, "I can't imagine being anything except an actress." To which the retort was given, "You can't be much of an actress then, can you?" I was reminded of this exchange when someone said to me about Go, "I can't imagine programming in a language that doesn't have generics." My retort, unspoken this time, was, "You can't be much of a programmer, then, can you?" This is not an essay about generics (which are a fine thing and may arrive in Go one day, or may not) but about imagination, or at least what passes for imagination among computer programmers: complaint. A friend observed that the definitive modern pastime is to complain on line. For the complainers, it's fun, for the recipients of the complaint it can be dispiriting. As a recipient, I am pushing back—by complaining, of course. Not so long ago, a programmer was someone who programs, but that seems to …